All I Ever Needed Was
by FallenOutTheWindow
Summary: There are some things you just can't go through life without...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Guess who's back with more OUAT fanfic... **

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this, I've already typed up the whole thing so there'll be no waiting for updates. **

**Regardless I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

The whole town was weird. Everywhere he went, Henry saw people staring at him, whispering about him, about his mom, behind his back. Not a lot of it made sense and usually by the time Henry had worked up the nerves to ask someone about it, his mom or one of her friends had appeared to cart him away once again.

That was another thing that Henry hated about this stupid little, small time town. Sure the people were nice enough but they were just _too nice_ for him. He'd grown up in Boston and had spent the past year in New York, he wasn't a little kid, he could take care of himself. He didn't need his mom signing him up for fishing trip after fishing trip or leaving him with the pregnant woman his mom went to jail with or the old lady who ran the dinner. He didn't need to be pawned off on the creepy mayor who kept glancing at him and acting like she knew him or the wannabe Jack Sparrow who just wanted to screw his mom.

That, in itself, was a terrifying mental image.

No, Henry didn't want any of this. He just wanted to go back to New York, to his Xbox and his friends, to Avery and pranks and Lisa who sat next to him in math class. Henry had a life, one that he was happy with, and so he couldn't understand why his mother was hell-bent on creating a new life here in Storybrooke.

"I just want to know what the hell is going on around here!" Henry shouted, throwing his hands up in frustration.

"Hey," David yelled, stepping in between Emma and the teen, "Don't talk to your mother like that!"

"What's it to you? What's it to any of you? You're not my family and we don't belong here!"

"Henry," Emma sighed, moving closer.

"No! You're not getting out of this. I'm sick of it. Hell, I should be in school mom! But I'm stuck here with all these weirdos staring at me and I just want to go home!"

"If I may-"

"No, you may not. What's with the leather anyway? It's weird," Henry shouted, interrupting the pirate wannabe before returning to glaring at his mother. "I want to go home, this whole place is like a headache and I'm sick of it. I'll go stay with Avery until you come back but this isn't our home, mom, we don't belong here," Henry finished, turning around and throwing himself down on the sofa, looking down, avoiding his mother's friends openly staring at him after his outburst.

Feeling the sofa dip beside him, Henry turned to see his mom, wringing her hands. "Henry, I wish I could explain all this to you but it's-"

"I swear, if you say its 'complicated'-"

"Complicated. I'm sorry kid. We've just got to stay a little while longer for this case I'm working on," Emma apologised.

"Mom," Henry said, taking a deep breath before looking up, "I don't believe you. None of this makes sense, this 'case' has been going on for way too long and a man died. If we were back in New York you would have turned this sort of thing over to the cops as soon as the first body dropped"

"You're right. I'm sorry kid, no more lying," raising her hands, Emma stood up. "Tell you what, give me twenty minutes and I'll explain everything to you."

"Emma, are you sure that's for the best?" Mary-Margret interrupted, "It's just that-"

"He's my kid and I'll decide what's best for him," Emma snapped and Henry couldn't help but be proud of his mother of a moment.

"No more cover stories?" Henry asked.

"No more covers."

"No lying?"

"None, I promise, just give me a few minutes to organise everything."

* * *

"You remember Regina, right?" Emma asked.

Looking up from his phone, Henry saw the creepy mayor looking at him oddly as she stood by him mom. "Sure, Miss Mills, right?"

"Yes, Henry," the mayor nodded.

"She's going to help me explain something."

"Mom, what's she going to do?" Henry asked, "No offense, I'm sure you know plenty but…"

"It's okay, Henry," Regina sighed, before pulling Emma away, whispering about whether or not something was going to work.

"Regina, we have to try. You've been teaching me, we can do this."

"Miss Swan-"

"Regina, please! We can't leave him like this!"

"What happened to leaving? I thought you were happy in New York," Regina said, eyes flicking over to where Henry sat.

"I want him to be happy, we both want that, but shouldn't we give him a choice?" Emma sighed.

"He deserves to know, even if they still decide to leave," David joined in, his arm still wrapped around his wife's shoulder as the pirate moved over to Emma.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Swan?"

"No, but this is what Henry wants," Emma finished before moving over to the sofa. "You're going to have to trust me once more here kid, I'll explain everything in a minute."

"Okay."

"Does he have anything from before the curse?" Regina asked, avoiding looking at henry at all.

"Curse? Mom, what the hell-"

"His scarf?" Emma answered, ignoring Henry's outburst.

"From Neverland?" Regina asked in disbelief.

"Yes."

"Mom, this makes no sense, what are you talking about?"

"Henry, just go get your scarf," Emma interrupted, lifting a hand to her temple.

Shaking his head, Henry left the room; the adults were being weird and cryptic once again and the sooner this whole thing was over the sooner he could leave and put this whole headache behind him.

"Here," thrusting the scarf into his mother's hands, Henry went back to sit on the couch, watching as his mother passed the object to the mayor who looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"This will hurt, if it works," Regina warned.

"What's going to hurt? Mom?"

"Henry, we're going to do something. There are things you don't know and we think we can… We can tell you, show you everything. Do you trust us?" Emma asked as she sat beside him on the sofa, Regina sitting on his other side.

"Yeah but, what are you going to do?"

"You have to trust us," Regina answered, holding one end of the scarf out to Emma.

"You have to believe," Emma sighed, taking hold of the scarf with one hand as she held one of Henry's hands with her free hand, watching as Regina did the same.

"Believe in what mom?"

"The impossible," Emma smiled as everything went white.

* * *

Minutes passed by before Henry opened his eyes again, waiting for the flashing images in his head to slow down enough for him to focus on anyone else in the room. He could hear his mother shifting by his side as the mayor brushed his hair back from his forehead.

Killian's footsteps seemed to match the pulsing in his head and Mary-Margret's shallow breathing helped anchor him to the room and focus on David's chanting, begging for him to be okay and open his eyes. s

It was like waking up from a dream only to find yourself in agony. Grasping his head, trying to move past the pain and clear his head of people who were and people who weren't people, characters, who would never be... Looking up, Henry saw all the faces staring at him, expecting him to remember them. And he did.

"Mom?" he asked, voice small, looking at the dark haired woman on his left.

"We're here Henry, it's all okay," Regina whispered, pulling Henry into her arms, pressing kisses against his head

He remembered everything.

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**A/N2: So, there you have part one of my latest little series. Let me know if there's any point in continuing and what you thought. **

**Until next time! **


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Regina is one of my favourite characters on the show, alongside Hook obviously, there is so much depth to her character and her evolution over the series has been beautiful to watch. With that in mind, I'm a little worried that this chapter doesn't do her a great deal of justice so please let me know what you think... **

* * *

It had taken hours for Regina to force herself to leave Henry and the Charming's. Appearances had to be kept up and right now, Regina had to appear alone.

Distancing herself from her son was hard, letting him go was even harder but making her way into the forest, slipping through the foliage and over fallen logs, Regina accepted that the hardest part was yet to come.

Sitting on the fallen tree that had become a refuge of sorts for her over the past few weeks, Regina let her mind wander; thinking back to everything she had been through, of spells so dark that even Rumplestiltskin wouldn't cast, to her childhood and her separation from Henry.

To defeat Zelena, Regina had to think like Zelena and for that to happen, the once Evil Queen had to become her enemy or as close as she could.

Regina understood the feeling of never quite being good enough, Cora had seen to that throughout her adolescence. She also understood what it meant to be alone in a room full of people, watching the family that she could have had interact while she watched from the sidelines. Something had happened during her lost year and though Regina could not pin-point what had changed exactly, she did know that her feelings towards certain people had changed.

Take Mr and Mrs Charming for example. After Neverland, Regina had learnt to deal with the insufferable, happy couple; she could deal with their vomit inducing happiness and rainbow stickers and hugs but now, she felt different. She didn't just cope with their presence but accepted them, their role in her life and her role in theirs. Obviously they still drove her to her wits end but she wasn't as hasty to recite fourteen different ways to kill them at the drop of a hat now, no, she was more likely to count to twelve and continue.

Whether she liked it or not, she was bonded to Snow White and her Prince Charming. Snow was her step-daughter and although there was more chance of Regina plaiting fog without the use of magic, she was more likely to accept the pregnant woman's role in her life and treat her with a semblance of caring and respect. Snow and David were possibly the only ones who understood what losing your child, consciously making the choice to send them away for their own benefit, felt like.

Then, of course, there was Henry. Her son.

Emma had agreed that Henry was her son, that they both cared for him and that as soon as everything was over, they would work out some sort of an agreement when it came to seeing the boy. A whole year had passed and Regina was anxious to get to know Henry all over again, learn of every moment she had missed and never let him go again. All Regina could remember was pain from their separation and the look on his face as he called her a hero, as he called her his mother, before separating them for what she believed would be forever.

She couldn't imagine the pain she would have been in, knowing that her son was gone and didn't even know who she was for a whole year and so, at times, Regina was thankful that she could remember nothing of the past year, nothing of the pain she would have endured.

"We really must stop meeting like this," A voice called out from the trees, hidden in darkness.

"Anyone would think you're following me," Regina laughed, recognising the accent immediately and brushing back her hair.

"Anyone would think you'd want to be found, sitting out in the open like this," Robin shot back, smirking.

"Yes, out in the open in the dark forest," Regina remarked, "The same forest that half of the town is avoiding out of fear of being turned into a monkey."

"Point well made, you majesty," bowing deeply, Robin moved to sit by the Queen of the fallen tree, resting his crossbow against his knee. "How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Ah, I must have imagined the tears then. "

"I'm not," raising a hand to swipe across her face, she found the outlaw to be telling the truth. "I'm not crying," Regina finished lamely.

"Of course not, however, if you wished to talk about it, I am here."

Silence descended over the pair, Regina too stubborn to talk and Robin too stubborn to leave. Eventually, the thief began to lose hope and was about to leave when the former Evil Queen was about to speak.

"Henry remembers me."

"I see, are you not happy about this development," Robin asked, perplexed by the queens reaction after learning about the boy being her son and her separation due to her return to the Enchanted Forest.

"Of course I'm happy," Regina snapped. "I just worry that this will end."

"What would have to end?"

"All _this_," waving a hand gesturing wildly, Regina saw Robin still didn't understand. "It feels like a dream, like it's not quite real. It doesn't feel _real_."

"Perhaps that's because you do not feel," Robin suggested, moving closer.

"What do you mean?"

"One cannot feel without a heart and I still hold yours. You're fighting for a cause you can't support with all your heart as you don't possess all your heart," Robin answered, daring to reach out and place a tentative hand on Regina's knee. "Zelena has many things but there is one thing you have that she doesn't."

"What?"

"Love. You have friends and family and people to support you and a heart full of love."

"I highly doubt that last part, "Regina laughed, turning away.

"I think you doubt yourself," Robin said, moving a hand to force Regina to look at him once more. "Many people around here feel that you can't love, that you couldn't let anyone in even if your life depended on it; I've heard them and they're wrong, Regina. I think you have the biggest heart of them all. I think you're afraid to let people in and I think that if you accepted that then…"

"Then what?"

"I think you'd be happy, I think you'd be loved. I think you need to open yourself to that chance and you're going to need this," Robin finished, holding up a small leather satchel.

"My heart?" Regina whispered, watching as Robin removed the organ from the bag before holding it up for inspection.

Either Regina's eyes were deceiving her or the black clouding her heart was receding, there was more red than she could remember.

"May I?" Robin asked, lifting the heart closer to her chest.

"Do you honestly think this is a good idea?"

"I think it can't hurt to try, your Majesty."

"Regina," she corrected, placing her own hand over the outlaws, positioning it ready to replace the heart.

"Regina," he nodded, smiling as he plunged the organ back where it belonged.

The pain was overwhelming, the feeling of her heart reattaching itself almost too much to bear but the feeling passed and a familiar beating began pounding in her chest once more.

"You're crying," Robin noted, concern colouring his voice.

"I am," Regina sighed, hand moving to cover her chest, comforted by the beating beneath her skin.

She had her son, and an outlaw that had entirely too much faith in her and people who were willing to fight by her side, things the Wicked Witch couldn't ever hope to understand. And so, with a broken heart mending itself once more, Regina prepared to return to the town to fight with all her heart.

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**A/N2: Some of you may have noticed the theme I'm working with here and if you have, you'll note that I'm trying to move away from the shows cannon Oz attributes. Please let me know what you thought of this, especially the dialogue, I find Robin and Regina's interactions hard to pen down. Also, let me know in a review any ideas you have for who'll take the centre stage in my next chapter, I'd love to hear your theories about my work or just the show in general... **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, I feel like I have some explaining to do; I thought it was pretty obvious but this whole story that I'm writing takes place after 3x12. This is after everyone's returned from the Enchanted Forest and the year that no one can remember. I'm explaining this now after messaging **maxiefae **regarding whether Regina still counts as Henry's mother; for the record, Regina is Henry's mother, she took care of him for ten years all alone and even though he now has Emma as well, she is still his mother. With that in mind though, Henry doesn't remember her on the show, to him, she's just the mayor of Storybrooke and nothing more and I had to get that out because that's pretty obvious on the show but after defending chapter one through PM yesterday I thought it'd be best for me to make that simple. **

**To recap, Regina is Henry's mother and he know remembers this thanks to magical reasons in chapter one. **

**Regina loves her son dearly and, in chapter two, expressed wanting to take down Zelena so that she could be with her son once more. **

**This is chapter three and I hope you enjoy it, please let me know if there's anything else that confuses you and I'll try and address it as soon as I'm able... **

* * *

For days, the town had been on edge. The threat of Zelena's new curse passed through the townsfolk in whispers and Regina, with the help of Belle and a great deal of research, felt like she had discovered the witch's final plan.

A spell so powerful it would require a pure vessel.

Zelena wished for a new start and had gathered most of the ingredients she would require. Unfortunately, there was nothing to do now but wait as the witch had gone into hiding until the final piece to her puzzle arrived.

It was Hook who guessed what Zelena was waiting for, who said the words that even the Evil Queen refused to say aloud.

Zelena needed a child.

A child with magic.

A child so pure, so powerful, that it could be said the child was the physical embodiment of True Love.

Zelena wanted Snow White's baby.

No amount of rum would be able to scrub away the sight of Mary-Margret's face as he announced the wicked witch's intentions, the way she seemed to fold in on herself while David barely held on, arms wrapped tightly around his wife, trying to be strong for her.

Even Henry, the young lad, was willing to die for the unborn babe, claiming that he was younger and had that his blood had to be stronger, being related to Rumplestiltskin and the child of the product of True Love but no one would accept losing Henry as an alternative.

Hook still had trouble sleeping, remembering the way Emma ran through the woods, screaming for Zelena to take her if she wanted Snow and David's child so much. He'd spent a great deal of the night simply holding her, whispering how the whole situation wasn't her fault and that the witch would pay, one way of another. Telling her how brave she was and how it was his Swan, his brave, beautiful and brilliant Swan who would save the day when everything felt hopeless.

Listening to Emma cry in his arms… It was a sound that would haunt him until the end of his days.

But now was not a time for dwelling on the past, now was a time for action and heroics and fighting.

Snow White was in labour and soon enough another Charming child would grace the Earth, Hook merely had to keep Mary-Margret safe until the babe was born and Regina could bind any possible magical abilities the infant may possess.

Three hours ago, this seemed easy.

Now, however, Hook saw the witches simian soldiers advancing, heard the sound of swords being drawn and shouts from one side of the street calling to men at the other, calls to arms. Hook stood beside Emma and Robin, sword drawn, waiting for the winged beasts to advance; the aim was to protect the dinner at all costs while Granny, Snow, David and Henry hid inside, waiting for Snow's child to be born.

"Swan-"

"Hook, now is really not the right time for this-"

"You should be inside there, lass, with your family," Hook reasoned, bringing up the argument once again.

"I told you, there's nothing for me to do in there but wait," Emma sighed, refusing to look at the pirate.

"Love-"

"I'm not leaving. If I stay here I can do something, I can protect Mary-Margret and Henry, and I can watch your back. I have to do something…"

"Well said, your highness," Robin spoke, titling his head.

"Still, I'd rather you were safe," Hook mumbled, unaware that Emma could hear him.

"I'm not leaving you alone out here," Emma responded, head held high as she looked Hook in the eye, willing him to understand what she meant, what she felt.

"Emma, I-"

Hook was unable to finish his thought as the sounds of Mary-Margret's screams pierced the air and the flying monkeys before them took this as a sign to charge. The street became a flurry of motion and Hook lost sight of Emma as he fought of one assailant after another, sword slicing through the air as his hook sunk into the beasts attempting to pass him. Sounds of the dwarves battle cries and Robin's 'Merry Men' throwing themselves into battle wholeheartedly surrounded him. Sweat and adrenaline and instinct took over him, minutes passed and the pirate refused to give in to the ache in his shoulders and arms, instead pulling his sword closer as another arrow flew past him.

Nodding once to Robin, thanking him silently for his assistance, Hook searched the crowd quickly for a flash of red and blonde but was unable to spot the Saviour.

He did, however, spot Zelena.

Moving closer, Hook watched as Zelena sent curse after curse at Regina who was countering them with everything she had. At some point in their battle, the Wicked Witch had dropped the Dark One's dagger and Emma, his brave and beautiful and foolish Emma, had retrieved it. Handing the dagger over to Belle, Emma barely paused long enough to watch the librarian order Rumplestiltskin to stop fighting before retreating to the dinner. The loss of the Dark One on 'Team Wicked' as Henry had jokingly referred to the Wicked Witch's attempts evened the playing field significantly and the townsfolk began to believe there was an end in sight to the battle they were embroiled in.

The witch noticed this and so decided to change tactics. Instead of fighting her little sister, the cause of her envy for all these years, Zelena decided to hit the people of the town where it would hurt most; she would take away their hope. Their precious Saviour.

Hook watched as Zelena prepared the curse, saw Emma preoccupied with a scarred simian and felt time slow down as the hex was released.

If anyone were to ask Hook why he did what he did, he would tell you it was instinct left over from his many years as a pirate, to protect the most valuable object in the room.

Without pause or thought, Hook jumped, screaming for Emma to move, to look out, to do _something_, as her ran in front of the curse. His whole body felt like it was consumed by the flames and barely felt the impact as his body hit the ground, rolling across the concrete.

Hands reached out for his body, pulling him up and forcing him to focus on the face floating above him.

"Emma," he whispered, reaching up to touch her face for what could be the last time.

"You idiot, what the hell were you thinking?" Emma cried, hating how weak she sounded.

"I was… helping," Hook coughed out.

"But now, now you're-"

"I know, love, it's okay. I'd do it again for you," Hook sighed, knowing that his words were true.

Everything before him seemed washed with white and all he could focus on was Swan, his Swan. His brave and beautiful and perfect Swan.

Held in the Saviour's arms, Hook couldn't help but laugh as he felt what he assumed was rain fall on his face.

"It was me," he whispered, confusing Emma. "I was brave."

Closing his eyes, Killian tasted the words on his tongue as his whole world was flooded with light because once, just this once, he was more than a pirate or a villain or _Hook_.

He was a _hero_.

He was _brave_.

And everything went white.

* * *

**A/N2: The whole thing about Zelena wanting Snow's baby for the reason I stated is purely speculation and my own theory, borne from too much coffee and too little sleep... **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and added this story to their alerts. This will be the final chapter and I hope you all enjoy it!**

**Also, there may be mild spoilers here, based on the speculation of time travel being in the finale... **

* * *

The sand beneath her was wet and Emma knew that if she didn't move soon then the tide would reach her. It was bad enough that it was raining but Emma really didn't feel like moving. She was cold, wet and sore and couldn't work out why her shoulders ached the way they did or why her head felt heavy and full of cotton wool.

A groan on her left alerted Emma to the presence of someone else but the Saviour couldn't bring herself to care. She had no idea where she was, why she was there or what had happened but for the first time in a long time she felt safe and, for Emma, that was enough to warrant a few more moments of sleep. Rolling on to her side, Emma's eyes shot open. She could feel both legs.

As in, she could feel her bare right leg with her bare left leg and vice versa and for someone who practically lived in denim, this was a cause for alarm.

Sitting up quickly, Emma bent forward, pressing her head into her hands as her memories from the past few days returned.

The battle with Zelena. Her trip through the Enchanted Forest. Killian almost dying for her again and-

_Killian!_

Moving quickly, opening her eyes, Emma saw the pirate she was searching for sprawled out on his side a few paces away from her on the beach. Crawling over to him, pulling him over to face him, Emma checked for any injuries, for the burn marks that should have covered his entire chest and instead only found a dark waistcoat, fully buttoned.

Hook, or Killian as Emma had taken to calling him in her head, seemed perfectly fine. More than fine, her head supplied at the sight on the brown coat clinging to his arm and hiding the fingers that were part of the hand that was most definitely attached to the pirate in front of her.

"Killian? Killian wake up," Emma hissed, shaking the man in her lap.

"I'm tired," Hook mumbled, moving closer to Emma almost unconsciously burying his head in her stomach.

"Look at me, I don't know where we are but this doesn't look like Enchanted Forest and-"

"Doesn't matter," throwing his arm around her, Hook grabbed onto the fabric on Emma's dress, determined not to let her go.

"Killian Jones," Emma hissed, pushing the pirate off of her lap, "You'd better wake up right now or I'm going to walk into whatever is out there on my own. If I die it will be on _your conscious_, is that what you want?" She said, waiting a beat for him to respond.

"Don't you dare, lass," Killian answered, slowly sitting up and looking at her, checking her quickly for injuries before distracting himself with the sight of his left hand. "Okay, I still have my hand."

"So does that mean we're still in the Enchanted Forest, because this doesn't look like it," Emma remarked gesturing around them and remembering Rumplestiltskin promising Hook that he would have both hands for their time-traveling adventure, chasing after the Wicked Witch.

"I wouldn't want to say anything for certain yet, love, but this hardly looks like the Enchanted Forest," Killian answered, standing up and walking along the shoreline.

Chasing after the fleeing pirate, Emma fell into step with the dark haired man beside her. "What happened?"

"We're not talking about it, Swan," Killian ground out, hands clenching into fists.

"Back in the Forest, before we passed out and ended up here you said-"

"Swan!"

"No, I'm not ignoring this!"

"No, I meant, look!" Killian shouted, grabbing the blonde woman in front of him and turning her to see the sign.

"Storybrooke," she read before spinning back around, "We're in Storybrooke?"

"I'm just as surprised as you are, love."

Deciding to postpone the argument, Emma grabbed Killian's hand dragging him alongside her as she ran to town, hitching up the dress as she ran.

Arriving in the town, the two began to slow down, both out of breath.

"Isn't this Main Street?" Killian asked, bent over and gesturing to their surroundings.

"Looks like it," Emma replied, pressing her hand into the stitch in her side. "Granny's should be down there, that's where everyone was when we left," Emma spoke, standing up, referring to the spell that sent Zelena back in time. The spell that Hook and Emma used to follow the witch back in time.

"Then let's go to Granny's," Hook said, coming to stand beside Emma, "You can buy us lunch," he laughed, holding out his arm for her to hold onto.

Smirking and placing her hand in the crook of his elbow, Emma followed Killian's example and made her way into town, all the while looking around for anyone familiar.

Eventually, the pair reached the town square and saw bodies littering the streets and, believing the worst, Emma ran forward hoping to offer assistance. Moving closer, Emma sighed audibly as Killian came to stand beside her.

"They're just asleep?" He asked, dumbfounded.

"Like we were on the beach," Emma agreed, watching as many of the bodies began shifting and stirring, before stepping over to a familiar dark haired form and shaking it awake.

"Regina?"

"Emma? You're back, I'm assuming it worked?" Regina asked, standing slowly with the assistance of Robin who had also woken.

"Of course it worked, dearie, it was my plan after all," Gold called out, walking across the street, barely paying them a second glance as he moved over to where Belle lay on the ground, still asleep.

Once Regina was upright once more, Emma allowed her eyes to scan the crowds searching for the faces she desperately wanted to see.

"I hope you don't mind, your majesty," Robin apologised to Regina, "But I must find Roland."

"Of course, I have to find Henry," the Queen answered, nodding as the outlaw ran off, calling out for his son.

"Wouldn't the lad be where we left him last?" Hook offered, acting as the voice of reason to the frantic mothers.

"The diner!" Regina sighed as both mothers ran to the establishment, Hook hot on their heels.

Throwing the doors open, neither Emma or Regina showed any signs of slowing down as Henry stood up to greet them. Regina threw her arms around the boy as Emma raised her hand to his face, ruffling his hair before moving on to see her parents and the new-born babe nestled in her mother's arms.

"You're okay?" Emma sighed, phrasing it as less of a question and as more of a statement.

"We're okay," Charming nodded, pulling his eldest child into a firm hug, hand coming up to cup the back of Emma's head as he nodded at Hook.

"And the baby?" Emma asked, voice wavering, praying that all their efforts hadn't been wasted.

"She's fine," Mary-Margret said, voice caught somewhere between a laugh and a sob, "She's perfect, Emma, thank you."

"Do you want to hold her?" David asked, finally letting go of his eldest daughter.

"I, are you sure? I mean, yes," Emma stumbled, looking around at her family, seeing the amused look on Hook's face at her difficulty expressing herself.

Moving over to the spot where her mother rested, Emma couldn't help the tears that gathered in her eyes. Reaching for the infant, wary of hurting the child in anyway, Emma marvelled at the baby, blonde tufts of hair, pale skin and what looked like her mother's chin.

"She's beautiful," Killian said, breaking the silence, noting how Emma seemed to be struggling to find her voice, "Does she have a name yet?"

"Actually, she does," David said, wrapping an arm around his wife as Emma passed the child back to Snow.

Hand ghosting over the new-born's head, Snow looked at the people in the room, from her husband to her daughter standing by the pirate, to Henry who seemed far too quiet for the teenage boy she been used to, to Regina and Robin Hood with his son who had appeared. "We called her Dorothy."

"Dorothy?" Henry asked, choking on the laugh that was begging to escape.

"Don't you like it?" Snow worried, looking up at her husband and back to the baby in her arms.

"It's perfect," Emma assured standing back as Regina slowly made her way over to the infant.

Emma didn't know what she was expecting from the former Evil Queen but watching the woman to burst into tears was not it.

Standing back, Emma watched as Regina attempted to apologise for everything she had done while Snow wasn't accepting any of it, claiming that it was in the past and that they should move on, that they were family.

Eventually, Gold and Belle returned to the room, impatient to see the newest royal and Roland clambered across Henry's lap to see what 'a real baby looks like'.

"I meant it," Killian whispered, reaching down to take a hold of Emma's hand before seeing her confused look. "What I said in the Enchanted Forest. What I didn't want to talk about. I meant it, Swan. You're my home."

Hearing the words out in the open once more and not said in anger, Emma couldn't help moving closer to the former pirate, raising her left hand to rest just above his heart.

"I know," she sighed, smiling at the sight of the ring on her middle finger, the ring that Killian himself had placed there when promising not to leave her.

Resting her head on Killian's shoulder, Emma let her gaze sweep across the room once more, watching her family interact, seeing the love where it had been concealed before, listening to Henry offer to teach Roland and Dorothy everything he knew, watching Regina finally let her walls down and let Robin support her.

A few years ago, Emma Swan was an orphan. She was alone and liked it that way but now she couldn't imagine ever going back to that life.

She was the Saviour and she was loved and, finally, for the first time in her life, she had a place to come back to at the end of the day.

She had a home.

* * *

**A/N2: And now I await your thoughts and feelings. I do hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it; I hope to post more work for this fandom soon so keep an eye out! **

**Until next time... **


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